The TUF 21 Finale took place July 12 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and for a “throwaway card” it was pretty solid, although obviously far from the card of the year. Overall from a betting perspective, six favorites and four underdogs won and one fight closed as a Pick ’em based on the closing odds at Several Bookmakers. Here’s a quick recap for each fight. TUF 21 Betting Favorites That Won In the main event, Stephen Thompson defeated Jake Ellenberger via first-round TKO (spinning wheel kick and punches). Ellenberger dropped Thompson early on but Thompson recovered and eventually landed a ridiculous spinning wheel kick on Ellenberger that knocked him out. Thompson was -235 (bet $235 to win $100) while Ellenberger was +215 (bet $100 to win $215). In a welterweight bout, Kamaru Usman defeated Hayder Hassan via second-round submission (arm-triangle choke). Usman’s grappling was far too much for Hassan as he took him down and eventually got the tap. Usman was -230 while Hassan was +210. In a welterweight bout, Jorge Masvidal defeated Cezar Ferreira via TKO (punches). Masvidal caught Ferreira’s chin and finished him in devastating fashion for his first win at 170lbs in the UFC. Masvidal was -190 while Ferreira was +175. In a women’s strawweight bout, Michelle Waterson defeated Angela Magana via unanimous decision. Michelle Waterson defeated Angela Magana via third-round submission (rear-naked choke). After a tough first round Waterson dominated the fight. Waterson was -925 while Magana was +725. In a middleweight bout, Trevor Smith defeated Dan Miller via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26). Smith outgrappled Miller for 15 minutes to win a clear-cut decision. Smith was -110 while Miller was +100. In a welterweight bout, George Sullivan defeated Dom Waters via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-25, 29-28). Sullivan was able to outgrind and outwork Waters in the first two rounds and survived a tough third round to take the win. Sullivan was -240 while Waters was +220. TUF 21 Betting Underdogs That Won In a welterweight bout, Mike Graves defeated Vicente Luque via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3). Graves outworked Luque in the grappling and striking to win the decision. He cashed at +167 while Luque lost at -278. In a featherweight bout, Maximo Blanco defeated Mike De La Torre via first-round TKO (punches). Blanco staggered De La Torre with punches and Yves Lavigne stepped in far too early, resulting in a controversial stoppage. Still, Blanco won at +160 while De La Torre lost at -170. In a middleweight bout, Josh Samman defeated Caio Magalhaes via first-round submission (rear-naked choke). Samman got the fight to the mat and quickly earned a tapout for his third-straight win in the UFC. Samman cashed at +105 while Magalhaes lost at -115. In a bantamweight bout, Jerrod Sanders defeated Russell Doane (29-28, 30-27, 29-28). Sanders was able to outwrestle Doane and control the grappling exchanges to win a very tight decision. Sanders was +400 while Doane was -450. TUF 21 Pick ‘Em Fights In a flyweight bout, Willie Gates defeated Darrell Montague via first-round TKO (knees to the body and punches). Gates connected with some big punches that dropped Montague and he followed it up with punches and knees to the body on the ground for a very impressive victory. Both fighters closed at -105.
